Kamado style cooker
A cast iron kamado style cooker includes a cast iron frustoconical pot and a semi-spherical cast iron lid. Both the lid and the pot are configured with integrally-formed circumferential band surrounding areas of each that comprise the greatest diameter and are pivotally connected to each other so that the lid may be rotated away from the pot. The cooker also includes a lift assist mechanism operative to impart a force to contribute to raising the cast iron lid.
This non-provisional application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/171,800 filed Jun. 5, 2015 and which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe apparatus is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
The various embodiments of the kamado style cooker and their advantages are best -understood, by referring to
Furthermore, reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “various embodiments,” or any variant thereof means that a particular feature or aspect described in conjunction with the particular embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in another embodiment,” or variations thereof in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to its respective embodiment.
A kamado cooker is a traditional Japanese wood or charcoal fueled cook stove. Modem versions of the cooker are believed to derive from clay vessels used by humans to cook food for many thousands of years. However, the use of clay to form the cooker has given way to the use of ceramic materials today. Modern kamado style cookers are made from a variety of materials including high fire ceramics, refractory materials, double wall insulated steel, traditional terra cotta, and a mix of Portland cement and crushed lava rock. Outer surfaces also vary from a high gloss ceramic glaze, paint, a textured stucco-like surface and ceramic tiles. There is a draft opening in the lower side of the unit to provide air to the charcoal, as web as a controllable vent in the top of the dome lid for air to exit the cooker. Temperature is controlled by adjusting these two vents. One or more grates are suspended over the fire to provide the cooking surface(s) for the food.
Manufacturers of the kamado style ceramic cookers claim that they are extremely versatile. Not only can they be used for grilling and smoking, but pizza can be cooked on a pizza stone and bread can also be baked. This is by virtue of the excellent heat retention properties of the ceramic shell that mean temperatures of up to 750° F. (400° C.) can be achieved. Also, due to the precise control of airflow (and thus temperature) afforded by the vent system, Kamado-style cookers are much like wood-fired ovens and can be used to roast and bake anything that can be roasted or baked in a traditional oven.
A common fault in the original Japanese design is that clay and ceramic materials tend to crack over time. Modern ceramic and refractory materials decrease cracking only to some extent, and Portland cement is still associated with cracking problems. Accordingly, a well-known shortcoming of modern Kamado-style cookers is their lack of strength and durability because of the use of ceramic and refractory lining materials.
Because cast iron is relatively heavy, the hinged connection 7 between the lid 1 and the pot 2 is configured with a lift assist mechanism. In one embodiment, the mechanism comprises one or more helical torsion springs 8 installed on a binge pin 9 and biased to apply torque to rotate the lid 1 away from the pot 2.
Another version of a lift assist mechanism is shown in
Referring to
As described above and shown in the associated drawings, the present invention comprises a kamado style cooker formed from cast iron. While particular embodiments have been described, it will be understood, however, that any invention appertaining to die apparatus described is not limited thereto, since modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. It is, therefore, contemplated by the appended claims to cover any such modifications that incorporate those features or those improvements that embody the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A cast iron kamado style cooker comprising:
- a cast iron frustoconical pot comprising: a body defining a chamber and a circular opening, wherein the chamber is in fluid communication with the circular opening; a lower circumferential band extending along a perimeter of the circular opening, wherein the lower circumferential band is integrally-formed with the body of the pot; and a lower hinge plate extending radially outward from the lower circumferential band, wherein the lower hinge plate comprises upward tending flanges, and wherein the upward tending flanges define a bore;
- a semi-spherical cast iron lid dimensioned to cover the circular opening, wherein the lid comprises: a body defining a lid chamber and a lid opening, wherein the lid opening is defined in a portion of the body having a greatest diameter of the lid; an upper circumferential band extending along a perimeter of the lid opening, wherein the upper circumferential band is integrally-formed with the body of the lid being in hinged connection with the pot; and an upper hinge plate extending from the upper circumferential band, wherein the upper hinge plate comprises downward tending flanges, and wherein the downward tending flanges define a bore; and
- a lift assist mechanism operative to impart a force to contribute to raising the lid, wherein the lift assist mechanism comprises: a pin extending through the bore of the lower hinge plate and the bore of the upper hinge plate; and a helical torsion spring on the pin,
- wherein the pot is pivotally connected to the lid by the lift assist mechanism,
- wherein the downward tending flanges of the upper hinge plate at least partially overlap the upward tending flanges of the lower hinge plate.
2. The cast iron kamado style cooker of claim 1, wherein the helical torsion spring is biased to apply torque to rotate the lid away from the pot.
3. The cast iron kamado style cooker of claim 1, wherein the lift assist mechanism further comprises a pneumatic piston having a first end and a second end, and wherein the first end is pivotally attached to the upper hinge plate of the lid and the second end is pivotally attached to the lower hinge plate of the pot.
4. The cast iron kamado style cooker of claim 1, wherein the lower hinge plate-further comprises a support flange and wherein the lift assist mechanism further comprises:
- a tie rod comprising: a lower end comprising a lower plate; and an upper end pivotally attached to the upper hinge plate, wherein the tie rod extends through a bore defined in the support flange; and
- a compression member supported on the tie rod between the lower plate and the support flange, wherein the compression member comprises an upper end seated against the support flange and a lower end seated against top surface of the lower plate, wherein the compression member is configured to impart a force against the top surface.
5. The cast iron kamado style cooker of claim 1, further comprising a monolithic cast iron fire bowl comprising:
- a sidewall having a top end and a bottom end; and
- a floor between the top end and the bottom end of the sidewall,
- wherein the fire bowl defines a receptacle for cooking fuel between the floor and the top end of the sidewall,
- wherein the floor defines a plurality of openings in communication with the receptacle,
- wherein the fire bowl defines a pedestal chamber between the floor and the bottom end of the sidewall in communication with the plurality of openings, and
- wherein the sidewall defines a vent window between the floor and the bottom end of the sidewall.
6. The cast iron kamado style cooker of claim 5, wherein the helical torsion spring is biased to apply torque to rotate the lid away from the pot.
7. The cast iron kamado style cooker of claim 5, wherein the lift assist mechanism further comprises a pneumatic piston comprising a first end and a second end, and wherein the first end is pivotally attached to the lid and each the second end is pivotally attached to the pot.
8. The cast iron kamado style cooker of claim 5, wherein the lower hinge plate further comprises:
- a support flange extending from the lower hinge plate;
- a tie rod comprising: a lower end comprising a lower plate; and an upper end pivotally attached to the upper hinge plate, wherein the tie rod extends through a bore defined in the support flange; and
- a compression member supported on the tie rod between the lower plate and the support flange, wherein the compression member comprises an upper end seated against a the support flange and a lower end seated against top surface of the lower plate, wherein the compression member is configured to impart a force against both the top surface.
9. The cast iron kamado style cooker of claim 1, wherein, in a closed configuration of the lid relative to the pot, the upper hinge plate is in parallel alignment with the lower hinge plate.
10. A cast iron kamado style cooker comprising:
- a cast iron frustoconical pot in which is defined a chamber in communication with a circular opening, wherein the pot comprises a lower integrally-formed circumferential band;
- a semi-spherical cast iron lid dimensioned to cover the circular opening, wherein the lid comprises an upper integrally formed circumferential band around a portion of the lid having a greatest diameter, and wherein the lid is in hinged connection with the pot;
- an upper hinge plate extending radially outward from the lid;
- a lower hinge plate extending radially outward from the pot, wherein the lower hinge plate is in parallel alignment with the upper hinge plate when the lid is in a closed configuration relative to the pot and pivotally connected to the upper hinge plate, wherein the lower hinge plate comprises a vertical flange terminating in a horizontal support flange, wherein the horizontal support flange defines a bore;
- a lift assist mechanism operative to impart a force to contribute to raising the lid, wherein the lift assist mechanism comprises: a tie rod comprising a lower end and an upper end, wherein the lower end comprises a lower end plate, and wherein the upper end is pivotally attached to the upper hinge plate and the tie rod extends through the bore in the horizontal support flange; and a compression members supported by the tie rod, wherein the compression member comprises an upper end seated against a bottom surface of the horizontal support flange and a lower end seated against a top surface of the lower end plate, and wherein the compression member is configured to impart force against both the bottom surface and the top surface.
11. The cast iron kamado style cooker of claim 10, further comprising a monolithic cast iron fire bowl comprising:
- a sidewall having a top end and a bottom end; and
- a floor between the top end and the bottom end of the sidewall,
- wherein the fire bowl defines a receptacle for cooking fuel between the floor and the top end of the sidewall,
- wherein the floor defines a plurality of openings in communication with the receptacle,
- wherein the fire bowl defines a pedestal chamber between the floor and the bottom end of the sidewall in communication with the plurality of openings, and
- wherein the sidewall defines a vent window between the floor and the bottom end of the sidewall.
3683454 | August 1972 | Gronbach |
4382312 | May 10, 1983 | Liggett et al. |
4965890 | October 30, 1990 | Fischer |
5318322 | June 7, 1994 | Home |
5325841 | July 5, 1994 | Hooper et al. |
D463196 | September 24, 2002 | Hsu |
6463923 | October 15, 2002 | Carley |
6499189 | December 31, 2002 | Kondo |
6543435 | April 8, 2003 | Regen et al. |
6748939 | June 15, 2004 | Gober |
7770576 | August 10, 2010 | Polkinghorn |
7878186 | February 1, 2011 | Cusack |
8925542 | January 6, 2015 | White |
9603484 | March 28, 2017 | Cleveland |
10070755 | September 11, 2018 | Schlosser |
20080041359 | February 21, 2008 | Kim |
20090308373 | December 17, 2009 | Scott |
20100258105 | October 14, 2010 | Simms, II |
20100258106 | October 14, 2010 | Simms, II |
20110017750 | January 27, 2011 | Fortkamp |
20110079209 | April 7, 2011 | Bruno et al. |
20110283990 | November 24, 2011 | Walters |
20130312732 | November 28, 2013 | Brennan |
20140224241 | August 14, 2014 | McCary |
20180078090 | March 22, 2018 | Boyd, Sr. |
2014057714 | April 2014 | JP |
2012077885 | June 2012 | WO |
2013116946 | August 2013 | WO |
- U.S. Appl. No. 15/712,699, “Non-Final Office Action”, dated Apr. 19, 2019, 11 pages.
- U.S. Appl. No. 15/712,699, “Final Office Action”, dated Jul. 30, 2019, 13 pages.
Type: Grant
Filed: Dec 31, 2015
Date of Patent: Jan 14, 2020
Patent Publication Number: 20180368619
Assignee: GFMCO LLC (Columbus, GA)
Inventor: George G Boyd, Sr. (Columbus, GA)
Primary Examiner: Gregory A Wilson
Application Number: 14/985,852
International Classification: A47J 37/07 (20060101); A47J 36/02 (20060101); A47J 36/12 (20060101);